Modi ji ki sena statement slammed by Opposition, defence

Admiral L Ramdas, former Indian Navy chief has said that he
will approach the Election Commission of India (ECI) against
the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for
referring to the Army as "Modi ji ki sena (Modi's army)" at an election rally
last week.

Adityanath said, "Congress people used to serve terrorists biryani and
Modi-ji's Sena (Prime Minister Narendra Modi's army) gives them only golis
and golas (bullets and bombs). That's the difference. Congress people use
'ji' for terrorists like Masood Azhar but under the leadership of PM Modi,
the BJP government is breaking the backs of terrorists by striking their
camps".

Admiral Ramdas said that the defence forces do not belong to any individual.
He also said that retired soldiers as well as those in service are upset with
this comment.

The armed forces do not belong to any one individual, they serve the
country. Till the polls get over, the Chief Election Commissioner is the
boss. I am going to approach the Election Commission in this regard. -
Admiral L Ramdas, Former Indian Navy chief

At a rally in Ghaziabad, Adityanath referred to the Army as "Modi ji ki
sena". This led to a political controversy and there have been reactions from
the Opposition and the military.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee tweeted saying,
"We are proud of our Army. They belong to all. They are a great asset of our
nation, and not a cassette of the BJP. People of this country must stand up
and reject this statement."

Congress leader Priyanka Chaturvedi also attacked Yogi
Adityanath and demanded an apology. "This is an insult to our armed forces.
They are India's Armed Forces not the private army of Prachaar Mantri.
Adityanath must apologise".

Lieutenant General HS Panag (retired) said that many such
comments have been made over the last five years by politicians to link
nationalism with the armed forces. Speaking to the media he said that "such
comments lead to the politicisation of the Army".

The ECI has asked the Ghaziabad district administration to file a report on
Adityanath's statement.

Related Links

Hi, I'm Bhavna Sharma. An Inclusion Strategist with Newz Hook. Yes, I am a person with disability. But that doesn’t define who I am. I am a youth, a woman and also the 1st Miss Disability of India 2013. I wanted to achieve something in life and I have been working for the last 9 years. I have recently completed my MBA in Human Resources because I want to grow. I am like every other young person in India. I want a good education, a good job and I want to help my family financially. So you can see I am like everyone else, yet people see me differently.

Here is the Ask Bhavna column for you where I would like to talk to you about the law, society and people’s attitudes and how we can build inclusion in India together.

So, if you have a question about any issue related to disability, bring them out and I can try to answer them? It could be a question relating to a policy or of a personal nature. Well, this is your space to find the answers!